Samsung’s profits soar to $7.9bn ahead of Galaxy S4 release

KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung has announced that its profits soared 50 percent year on year to $7.9bn in the first quarter, thanks to stellar smartphone sales.

Samsung's first quarter financial report, which come just two days ahead of the anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 release date, reveals that the firm raked in revenues of $47.6bn over the three month period. Operating profit came in at $7.9bn, a 50 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The firm said that strong smartphone sales helped it reach record profits, despite demand for smartphones and tablets having declined slightly due to "weak seasonality".

The Korean hardware maker said that smartphone demand decreased by a single digit percentage from the prior quarter, while demand for tablet devices slumped in both developed and emerging markets. Although we're yet to see any shipment figures, Samsung added that despite weakened demand it maintained a steady pace of sales for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.

Samsung's TV division suffered more than its mobile business, with the firm revealing that demand decreased by 30 percent from the previous quarter. Samsung also added that the PC DRAM market continued to shrink due to weakened PC demand, although it said that looking forward it expects seminconductor earnings to grow thanks to the ramp-up of 28nm production.

Although Samsung saw weaker demand in a number of areas, its first quarter numbers are in stark contrast to Apple's, which earlier this week saw its profits slide for the first time in a decade.

Business is only likely to get better for Samsung, with its much-hyped Galaxy S4 handset set to go on sale in the UK this weekend.